Alex Goecks

David Plowden Emulation (6)

In this image Plowden uses a more flat, documentary style. He photographed in a shade or during an overcast day, which mutes all the shadow and decreases it’s contrast. The rustic and worn doors of the shop play off the whole idea of the barber shop being an old or small town element that is disappearing in America, especially in larger towns and cites. The doors are frames in the center with a barber pole and a closed sign located near the center. This is an image to capture and document a business that is rapidly disappearing, the closed sign is almost a statement or a foreshadowing of this businesses current or future state.

Strengths: Composition, Concept.

Vic’s Barber Shop, Cedarburg, Wisconsin (20110)

This shop was in the shade for the most part, the contrast and shadow are slightly higher, and I believe if I photographed on a more overcast day, it would resemble Plowden’s. The door and window balancing each other out, with the left frame of the door splitting the image right down the center. I chose to include the barber pole on top of the closed sign, sacrificing balance and composition to more closely duplicate Plowden’s closed barbershop theme.